Occultus
by LilahMontgomery
Summary: Hermione is seventeen and back at Hogwarts after the fall of the Dark Lord. Struggling to go back to 'everything as normal', she uses the Time Turner and travels back to the Marauders era. Lost in both time and her own past, Hermione must fight through the lures of Dark Magic, self-indulgence and lust before she and the future she comes from are lost forever. ON HOLD
1. Chapter 1

**_Occultus_**

 _By Lilah Montgomery_

 _ **Chapter 1**_

 ** _31st October 1977_**

The dormitory bed creaked as he finally climbed on top of her.

More than half an hour of bringing her higher and higher with his mouth and clever fingers had preceded this intimate act, an hour of kissing and grasping at clothes as they made their way here before that. Hermione was filled with an almost feral desperation, legs wrapping around him, fingernails scratching lines into his flesh.

How was it he was doing this to her?

Dark magic?

His brilliant mind?

Did it matter anymore?

Hips crashing together, moans and gasps from both participants. A declaration of love from him, a cry of ecstasy in return from her.

He felt so good, she could not deny it. She broke from kissing his collarbone to stare longingly into his obsidian eyes. They held in them a million swirling thoughts and feelings, all intermingling with pleasure and power.

She adjusted their angle with a slight tilt of her pelvis and was overwhelmed as he hit the perfect spot inside her. Frantic gasping followed as he drove into her, right to the edge, then right over into blistering heat and technicolour.

The force of it silenced her. Her breath was trapped in her lungs and her mind swam with bliss.

He was so perfect. How could she have not seen it before?

Her dark haired lover slowed his pace and moaned into her shoulder before stopping with a sharp gasp. His body became as relaxed as hers and for a few minutes, ragged breathing was the only sound.

Hermione pulled her head up and embraced him against her. She tightened her legs around his hips and kissed his dark head. He returned the affection with kisses wherever he could reach.

 _We're seventeen, we could do this all night!_ Hermione reminded herself,

Her lover pulled his head up, breaking their embrace. He stared into her eyes, the hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"You are beautiful, Rose," he told her gently. "What are you going to do to me?"

Hermione felt him slip out of her and watched, almost sadly, as he stood up and stretched.

She pulled his sheets over herself and considered her answer very carefully.

"Severus Snape," she replied, "I'm going to save you."

~0o0~

A mirror can serve perfectly as a window to a person's future. Big bags under the eyes in the reflection: today will be a struggle for you. A winning smile and a 'good hair day' in the reflection almost promises a pleasant time of it for that person. This may go some way to explaining why they are used so frequently in the wizarding and muggle worlds alike for uses beyond fixing smudged lipstick. Be it "Mirror mirror on the wall…" fairy tales, communication via magic portals, revealing one's darkest desires or used in Divination- a wholly, often misunderstood branch of magic practised only by those gifted.

Hermione Granger, at the age of seventeen, should perhaps have been more cautious of the power of mirrors as hers smashed in front of her one summer morning.

 ** _1st September 1998_**

"Bollocks."

"What was that?" Ron called up the stairs.

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh and started collecting the pieces of glass now scattering the floor.

"Just some glass, I'll sort it!" She called back. She retrieved her wand from her dresser drawer and wordlessly charmed the glass to form a soft, reflective putty which slithered itself into the wastepaper bin. She grinned triumphantly and threw the plastic frame in with it.

Hermione tugged her wild curls into a neat-ish bun and grabbed her bag as she made her way down the stairs.

Mrs Weasley was waiting for her in the kitchen, pretending to be hand washing a jug in the sink. The jug was quickly forgotten in the soap suds as Hermione walked through the door.

"You're up, dear!" The older witch fussed, pulling her by the arm to the table. "Did you sleep well? Are you excited to go back to Hogwarts today? I can write to Professor McGonagall if you're not quite ready? Ron said you broke a glass?"

Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"It was just a makeup mirror, Mrs Weasley. I've been meaning to make a better one anyway." She explained.

Mrs Weasley nodded, unconvinced, and waved her wand over the table. Toast, jam and a variety of fresh fruit appeared before Hermione's eyes. Dropping into a chair, she tucked in greedily.

Hermione had been staying at the Burrow for the last few weeks of summer. She had gone initially saying she would help with the repairs but in actual fact had wanted to spend time with the youngest Weasley brother-her friend turned lover, Ron.

"If you need more time, dear, I do think they'd understand. After what you went through…"

The matriarch's voice broke slightly and she stopped talking for a moment. Hermione stopped eating, knowing the woman was silently reliving the battle which claimed one of her sons.

"Well, if you want me to come and get you at any point, you know how to reach me." Mrs Weasley added. She started charming some of the pots to clean themselves and stopped speaking while a grateful Hermione finished eating.

The younger witch magically cleared away, enjoying the fact she could use her wand outside of school, grabbed her bag again and went to join Ron and Ginny on the bench outside the front door.

The pair stopped talking when they saw her and each greeted her warmly, Ron even standing up to hug her. She sat down with them and stared out at the meadow behind the rickety house.

"How's mum?" Ginny asked. Hermione shook her head slightly and continued to stare ahead.

"She's still fussing a lot and clearly doesn't want me to go back." She replied.

Ginny made a noise and shook her head in a matching gesture.

"Nor me," she said, "I think she wants everyone around her at the moment."

"I'm staying." Ron piped up. "Harry says he'll come and stay for a while too while we work out what we're going to do with ourselves now."

Hermione was awash with pure exasperation but held her tongue. Ron and Harry's decision not to return to Hogwarts to complete their schooling had been the source of many a row over the summer, leading to her realising that perhaps she and Ron were not as suited as she had thought.

Hermione saw herself as competitive and ambitious, she did not understand her boyfriend's lack of drive to study for his NEWTs or to take the opportunity to amass more knowledge.

She smiled weakly and stayed quiet.

She felt Ron squeeze her hand and her eyes met his.

"You don't have to go back either, you know…" he suggested.

The witch laughed and pulled her hand away.

"I'm sorry, Ron, but if you think I'm going to carry on with my life without a NEWT to my name, you have another thing coming! Besides, if I want to continue my work with SPEW then I need to get a decent job at the Ministry, they won't hire someone without the credentials."

The red-haired boy looked shocked for a moment, then crestfallen.

"The Ministry? I'd hoped you'd want to maybe stay home and raise a family...in the future, I mean…"

Ginny shot him a warning look which Hermione noticed and he shrugged his shoulders quickly.

"What I meant was, I'm surprised you want to work there and not stay here with us, that's all…" He spluttered.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and let the suggestion of no career pass. She mentally added it to the ever-growing list of reasons they did not have a future together.

~0o0~

The journey to the train had been relatively cheerful, though the goodbye at the platform was extremely emotional. Mrs Weasley broke down in tears several times and kept grabbing hold of Ginny, refusing to let her go.

George, who had chosen to take a year out to be with his family, held her back as the girls boarded the train.

"Write to me?" Ron called after Hermione before the door was closed. She assured him that she would and sat with Ginny in an empty compartment, finally able to express excitement about going back.

She sat by the window after changing into her robes and broke a chocolate bar in half to share with Ginny.

"How was your summer with Harry? Are you going to miss him?" Hermione asked.

She noted the hesitation before Ginny answered.

"Of course," she said, "It was really nice but I'll be glad to get away for a while… give me some time to grieve…"

Hermione's heart broke a little. With no siblings of her own, she could only imagine what Ginny was going through. She decided to change the subject and produced The Advanced Book of Potions from her bag. Opening the page, she touched the handwritten note gently: Property of the Half-Blood Prince.

Ginny craned her neck to look and stared at Hermione quizzically.

"It was his...Snape's…" Hermione explained. "He was a bit of a genius, even as a schoolboy…." She stroked his pen marks again with her fingertips. "This book was his. Harry accidently inherited it and gave it to me. He's improved all of the potions with tweaks here and there and since I can't learn off the Professor anymore…"

"You weren't there when he was Headmaster, Hermione, so I wouldn't expect you to understand, but the less I hear about that 'genius' man the better!"

Hermione was slightly taken aback but then remembered the stories of torture and fear which had occurred at the school the year before. Ginny and those left behind had endured trials as traumatic as herself and her friends on their quest for the Horcruxes and it showed on the younger witch's face.

Hermione quickly shut the book and tidied it away. She pulled out her Runes book instead and opened it to study.

She glanced up at Ginny after a few minutes and saw silent tears slipping down the younger girl's face.

~0o0~

Hermione sat on her four poster bed that night in Hogwarts, flicking through the Half-Blood Prince's potions book.

She had thought that the familiar castle and grounds would fill her once more with a sense of stability and belonging, but instead, the witch found herself buried under memories of all those who had been lost just a few short months before.

Some faces from the past were welcome: Neville and Luna had both greeted her so warmly she felt her heart may burst and Hagrid had lifted her clear off the floor in a massive bear-hug.

Others were not so welcome. Draco Malfoy had also returned and had given her a curt nod of his platinum head and left it there.

Her mind swam with the faces she would never see again around the castle. Remus Lupin, Fred Weasley, Albus Dumbledore and of course…

"Severus Snape…" She whispered to the pages before her.

It was odd. She had never considered herself 'attached' to her former Potions Master, yet somehow, with his old school book providing an insight into his clearly brilliant mind, Hermione found herself disappointed that she would not have the chance to learn from him or know him better.

The pages had scribbles ranging from ordinary to profound; spells, curses and the odd word or phrase which Hermione did not understand or recognise. Some had little tags next to them: "For Enemies…" or "Work in Progress". Others were written with strings of numbers or symbols next to them.

Hermione rubbed her eyes, suddenly aware that it was getting late. She shut the book but held it close to herself, deep in thought.

She wondered silently, as she stared at her reflection in the dark window, how she was supposed to carry on as normal when everything felt so far from it…

~0o0~

The harsh sunlight hit Hermione's eyelids as it flooded in through now fairly familiar windows. The term had barely started and yet she was enduring her third hangover of the year plus an altogether not unpleasant drunken memory…

She giggled slightly as she recalled Malfoy stroking her silky bare legs under the table as the other seventh years were distracted by a drinking game. His warm palms had caressed her, working their way teasingly close to the bottom of her short lace dress, yet never quite reaching where she had started to wish they would wander.

His eyes had locked with hers as she sipped the fire whisky he had bought her...seeking permission? Daring her? She could not be certain. Perhaps she would never find out.

She listened to Ginny's soft snores from the other side of her bed and sighed.

Her flirtatious rendezvous with the young man previously her enemy had ended abruptly as word reached her that Ginny had "rather overdone it" and needed to be taken back to the castle. Hermione had got them both back and bundled Ginny into her own bed for safe-keeping while she sobered up herself.

She wondered in her morning-after haze whether or not Snape would have invented a potion to cure hangovers.

 _He probably wasn't a drinker…_ she reasoned, thinking back to the cold, controlled man she had known.

Her head swam as she sat up but she fought on and dressed, gathered her school things and left for the potions dungeon.

~0o0~

"Good Morning, Hermione, dear, how are you?"

Horace Slughorn, Potions Master and Head of Slytherin: kindly, attracted to the rich and powerful, far too upbeat for Hermione's liking.

She smiled a weak smile and took her place near the front of the class. Draco Malfoy had already sat down and glanced up at her as she sat.

Slughorn smiled around the room and gestured to the potion sat bubbling on his desk.

"Today, we are going to start to brew Wolfsbane Potion. Can anyone tell me about it before we begin?"

Hermione ignored the looks she was getting and averted her gaze to the floor. Having been so excited to show off her knowledge before, it just wasn't the same without Ron staring open mouthed at her or Harry grinning proudly.

"Anyone?"

Draco Malfoy put his hand up and started answering, his voice sounding a little gruff after the drinking and lack of sleep.

"Wolfsbane Potion is known to allow the Werewolf to keep their mind during transformations so they do not become a wild animal and bite anyone who comes into contact with them. It was discovered by Damocles Belby who is the uncle of Marcus from our last year in Ravenclaw…"

Slughorn smiled broadly, though winced a little at the mention of Marcus. Hermione remembered the old man being disappointed that Marcus was not in touch with his famous uncle anymore, a fact which led to Marcus' invites to further 'Slug Club' meeting getting 'mislaid'.

Hermione also remembered Slughorn boasting about how he had taught Damocles "...everything he knew…".

"Ah, Damocles. I was his teacher, you know." the old man started up while making his way to the potion on the front desk. "I taught him everything he knew!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and smirked. She fished her copy of Advanced Potion making out of her bag and set herself up near a cauldron.

She discovered the Wolfsbane potion on her page was annotated as usual in Snape's scrawling handwriting.

"Now, everyone. This is extremely advanced potion making. No one but myself and Damocles has been able to produce it from scratch, therefore the exam will focus on theory as well as method after the ingredients have been collected and treated. At no point will you be expected to produce this on your own."

Hermione's mind took her back to her third year and she would have stuck up her hand, were it not for Draco Malfoy making an appearance beside her.

"Snape could do it too. Saw him make it for.…" the youth muttered to her.

Hermione nodded. "And Lupin." She added.

Draco took the cauldron beside her and unpacked his things, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as he did so.

"Why are you cutting lengthways?" He whispered after a while. "The book says-"

"I know. Why don't you do your own."

The two continued to work in silence for a few more minutes before Draco spoke again.

"About last night," he said, "things got a bit….I don't normally do that, particularly with girls of your…"

Hermione glared at him, daring him to mention her blood status.

"...background." He finished.

The witch rolled her eyes and groaned.

"I thought maybe we could have a Butterbeer or something this afternoon. If you're not busy…?"

"I'm seeing Ron at the moment, actually," Hermione snapped, stinging a little from his 'background' comment. The Slytherin stood with his mouth open for a moment before angrily slicing his herbs.

"I see," he replied, "you must have forgotten that last night since you didn't mention it once and let me make a fool of myself."

The witch held back a haughty response and reflected instead. She debated silently how best to answer before finally doing so.

"I was enjoying your attention," she admitted, "you're handsome and it was thrilling since Ron and Harry wouldn't approve. I think I liked the naughtiness of it….but we couldn't be more than a grope in a pub, Draco, not after everything...and your family would never approve of me if anything came of it. Probably best if we just shake hands and leave it there?"

Before he could answer, Hermione gathered her remaining ingredients and left him at the workbench alone.

If Hermione Granger could see her reflection in a mirror as others were starting to see her, she would see the cracks forming all over her once neat image. She would watch as, piece by piece, little shards had come away leaving her looking lost and incomplete.

She was held together by her inner strength determination to succeed, yet a looking glass cannot be held together by will alone and the next little tap could see the whole thing shatter…


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N**_

 _ **Just a quick thank you to all of you who have left me notes, as well as all the support you guys have given me so far. It's really lovely that people are enjoying the piece so thank you for being so encouraging.**_

 **Chapter 2**

There are many tales in the muggle world about princesses trapped in castles awaiting rescue. They appear in almost every country and told in almost every language. The wizarding world has their own set of folk stories, yet this common theme does not feature. Perhaps this is due to their ability to use broomsticks? The Floo network? Their success to tame flying beasts? Could it be a people who can Apparate assume no one could ever be trapped anywhere?

If this is the case, the people of the wizarding world should have been paying more attention to Hermione Granger, a witch who felt very trapped in a castle. Perhaps if they had, they would realise not all prisons have bars and it is not so easy to escape your own mind...

 ** _1st December 1998_**

The wind played with Hermione's hair as it danced through the open window beside her. The castle battlements were utterly gorgeous in the moonlight, and while at first, she had been fearful of being up there after lights out, she was starting to feel pleased she had.

The view over the grounds towards the forest was breathtaking. She wished, as she sipped her whisky thoughtfully, that she could paint it, then she could enjoy it forever.

She smiled and relaxed into the stone wall behind her, cradling her drink in her hand. The warmth of the alcohol spread across her chest and allowed her to loosen the blanket she had wrapped around herself against the cold winter air. Silence all around.

"Perfect…" she mused, taking another swig.

Her mind started flitting to Ron and Harry. She wondered what they would make of the view, the silence, the half bottle of whisky she had consumed already…

Chuckling, she shifted her weight. It was quite fun being naughty and breaking the rules. She decided, after another swig from her glass, that she would do it more often.

"Hermione?"

Neville's voice caught her off guard and she spilt her drink down herself as she whipped around to see him standing in the doorway.

The witch wiped her face and neck with her hands and giggled out loud at her clumsiness.

"Neville! You made me jump!"

"Why are you in here, Hermione? You know it's after hours…?"

She scoffed at that.

The young man pulled himself up to his full height and walked over until he stood little more than two feet away.

"I-I'm sorry, Hermione, but I have to ask you to go to bed now, please."

Hermione found herself laughing. Neville shrank a little but seemed determined to stand his ground.

"Are you asking me to go to bed?"

"Yes."

"With you?"

"Sorry?"

"You asked me to come to bed!" Hermione tried to stand up but found herself embarrassingly tangled in the blanket and her robes. She laughed harder at the ridiculousness of the whole thing and drained what was left in her glass.

Neville stepped towards her and caught her by the arm before she toppled over.

"Firstly, no I didn't. I asked you to go to your bed and I meant alone. Secondly, how much have you drunk?"

Hermione did not like either his tone nor his line of questioning. She felt angry all of a sudden to be spoken to like a child.

She pulled her arm out of his grasp and tilted her glass to the mouth. She sighed when she realised it was empty.

"Hermione…?"

"Fuck off, Neville. I was just sitting minding my own business, maybe you should mind yours! Why do you think you can order me around?"

Neville grabbed her arm again and helped her to the door. He pushed her against the door frame and leant his back against the side opposite.

"Hermione, you know I have nothing but deepest respect for you-"

"You should fucking act like it then-"

"-But I am a trainee teacher at this school and you are a student for the rest of this year. There are rules that I have to follow!"

Hermione had forgotten Neville's reason for still being within the school. She had been so relieved to see her friend that she had not bothered talking to him about it. She started to feel a little foolish, then overwhelmingly guilty.

Her hand came to rest on her face as the uncontrollable urge to cry took over.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered through her sobs.

Neville's arms came to encircle her gently and she rested her head on his chest, wetting his shirt but not caring. She sniffed and allowed the misery to consume her. She was barely able to stand as she sobbed helplessly, overcome with emotion. The episode lasted several minutes but at last, she lifted her head and was able to wipe her cheeks and nose on her blanket.

Neville's expression was concerned yet kind. His eyes softened as she looked into them and suddenly she felt safe again.

"Hermione," he said quietly, "are you alright? You know if you ever need anything, I'm here for you?"

She held back more tears and nodded. She felt drained after her weep and had a desire to curl up in bed, preferably not alone.

The young woman reached out and held his hand before making her way down the corridor away from her friend.

~0o0~

The morning felt like it had arrived too early as the sunlight rudely smashed into the room and woke her.

Hermione was aware she was unbelievably thirsty, dizzy and felt a little sick. She stayed on her side in the fetal position and tried to will water to her mouth without moving. As her thirst increased, she opened her eyes and reached for the empty glass on her nightstand. She retrieved her wand and pointed it at the glass.

"Aguamenti."

The liquid poured from the tip of her wand and filled it. She drank deeply before repeating her actions.

"You're awake are you?" An annoyed sounding voice snapped from behind her.

Hermione dropped the glass in shock and untangled from the bed sheets before leaping out of bed. She spun round to find Draco Malfoy glaring at her from under her sheets.

Her mind started to race and tears pricked in her eyes. What had she done?

She realised, as her heart thumped, that she was still fully dressed, as was he-what she could see of him anyway.

Slowly, the memory of the night before started to come back.

Neville had found her, she had cried into his chest, then left him. She went to the Slytherin Common room and asked for -no- demanded to see Draco. They had talked a little, he had offered to walk her back to her room, she had invited him up but he had said no…

Hermione's mind clamped shut and would not let her know anymore. She stared at him, embarrassed and confused.

"You were pissed, Granger. I tried to leave you by the Fat Lady portrait but you were having none of it. I've never seen you so distraught!"

He climbed out of the bed as Hermione raked her nails through her scalp and whimpered in humiliation. She realised she had drunk more than she'd thought.

Draco stood before her in his shirt and black trousers, miraculously unruffled. His platinum hair was also as it always was. Hermione suspected he'd spelled it that way. He wore a superior, aristocratic look to accompany his semi-formal attire.

"You know, Granger," he mused, "anyone would think that perhaps you like me a little more than you'd admit. After all, you refused to move until I was in bed with you…"

Hermione let out a disgusted squeak and grabbed her hairbrush from her vanity unit. She ran it through her matted locks quickly in an effort to regain some dignity.

Draco moved a little forwards, clearly enjoying her distress. She held her hands up to stop him coming any closer.

"We didn't do anything last night, did we?" She asked. A look came over Draco like a mixture of repulsion and distress.

"Of course not-what do you take me for?" He snapped, much to the witch's relief. He stepped towards her again and grinned.

"But, now that you're sober, maybe you should have a bath and let me 'take care of you' for the day?" he suggested.

His meaning was barely disguised and Hermione could not help being a little excited and flattered by the way he was looking at her. Even so, she shook her head fiercely.

"I'm sorry, Draco, I really am. I don't know what keeps coming over me when I'm drunk around you! But as I told you yesterday, I'm with Ron." She thought about how guilty she felt for a moment before adding: "I think you'd better leave…."

For the second time within twenty-four hours, Draco Malfoy looked hurt and furious at her. He grabbed his jacket from the chair beside the bed and glared at her before starting towards the stairs.

"I'll have to admit spending the night here anyway to everyone in the Common Room," he reminded her over his shoulder, "goodness knows what they'll think of you!"

The nastiness of his words stung her as Hermione watched him leave the room. She sat down and held herself before continuing to tidy up.

"Fucking-Draco-fucking-Malfoy?" She asked her reflection in her new, ornate silver mirror. "What is wrong with me?!"

~0o0~

 ** _5th January 1999_**

Hermione went to her own home for Christmas and avoided Ron until the very last day of her holiday. She met him in a pub, they argued about how distant she was being before finally calling their relationship off.

As she walked home that evening she was consumed with a bitter sadness she could not explain. It was as if she had let go of the last piece of her childhood and had ended an era forever.

On arriving back to Hogwarts the next day, Hermione felt a renewed sense of things. She realised she had been living for others for far too long and wanted to enjoy herself at last. Hermione had helped save the wizarding world, she reasoned, so life owed her a little time to indulge.

Draco Malfoy served this purpose well. He hardly resisted her when she approached him on their first evening back and they kissed and fondled each other openly in the Three Broomsticks without a care.

The two held hands on their walk back up to the castle and arrived through the large wooden doors giggling and tipsy. They made their way past the Great Hall and found a corner cloaked in shadows just beyond it. Hermione allowed herself to be tucked into the corner and enjoyed Draco's mouth over her neck. His hands crept up her legs and suddenly, his fingers had found their way to the outside of her underwear. She let out as gasp as he boldly pulled her knickers to one side and started probing between her legs. She watched as he pulled his head away from her to watch her expression, a smirk as arrogant as ever on his face.

She felt uncomfortable at the look he was giving her, almost mocking her for enjoying the sensation of his long fingers, so she pushed his hand away and smiled.

"You're right, as always, Granger," he whispered, "it's too public here for this. Don't want to give old Filch a show, do we? Come with me!"

He pushed off her and tugged at her arm before setting off down a dark corridor towards the main part of the hesitated before following him, more out of curiosity than anything else.

x

Draco shoved open the door of the History of Magic classroom and swaggered around the empty chairs and desks with his hands in his pockets. He shot Hermione a wink as she closed the door nervously behind herself.

The young man then stepped towards her and pulled her into his arms. His hands ran down her back and sides as he kissed her and Hermione found herself breathlessly relenting to his will. She started to relax, kissing back and allowing his tongue access to her mouth.

They filled the room with shallow pants for air and held each other's bodies as tight as they could.

Hermione flushed with enjoyment until Draco broke the kiss and stared at her, eyes half closed in lust, lips puffy from pressing against hers.

"What do you say we finally do something interesting in this room?" He suggested.

Hermione held back a cry of surprise as she was lifted to sit on the desk behind her. Draco parted her legs and got between them in a single movement before pushing her back onto the desk with his body and worshipping her neck again.

Hermione felt him rubbing against her with his hardened manhood, though she struggled to relax into the sensation at all.

Her body still tense, she tried to push his weight off her top half a little more. Draco misread her action and reached down, undid his belt, freed himself, then reached under her dress to pull her underwear to the side to allow himself entry.

Hermione jerked as he touched her and pushed his body off herself slightly more firmly.

"Draco, this isn't really working for me," she said softly, "can you maybe give me a bit more of a warm up?"

The young man looked incensed and stared, dumbfounded, at her.

"I fingered you in the corridor!" He protested.

Perturbed but still determined to finish what they'd started, Hermione gave him a stern look as an answer. Her partner sighed and reached down to touch her more tenderly before slowly claiming her mouth again. She sighed through her nose as his fingers started their work and found herself finally relaxing into the act. A few minutes of movement and she was starting to really enjoy herself.

"You know…" Draco muttered into her ear as he swapped hands, "You'll be my first Mudblood…"

Hermione snapped out of her physical bliss and glared at him before noting the mischievous expression he was wearing. Her anger abated and she gripped his hips with her thighs. "That's funny…" she muttered back, "you'll be my third pureblood…"

His arm stopped moving for a moment while he chuckled. He positioned himself in his finger's place and pressed inside.

"Must be a kink then." he replied.

Hermione had no time to answer. She savoured the sensations as Draco began building a rhythm and tried to coordinate her body to match his movements. As her pleasure built, she ignored the sounds of the desk starting to bang or the scrape of the feet on the floor.

Her legs gripped him tighter and her hands came to rest on his clothed back and neck. She pulled him towards her face and kissed him deeply. He was an arrogant bastard but he felt good and right at that moment, that was all Hermione cared about.

"I'm close…" Draco whimpered. His words sent a desperate wave of panic through the young woman's body.

"Not yet!" She begged, "just a little longer!"

She cried out in annoyance as he came to a stuttering halt. He moaned and collapsed on top of her, gasping for breath.

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh and stroked his hair as he recovered. He was far too heavy and she was struggling to get air but she was too annoyed to move him. Eventually, when he did shift off her, she rolled sideways and straightened herself out as quickly as possible.

Draco tucked himself away again and had a slightly dazed look to him as he turned to face her.

She stared at him awkwardly, still slightly seething.

"That was great, Granger, if I do say so myself." He said, putting his hands back into his pockets and smirking at her triumphantly. Hermione was starting to regret the entire episode and desperately wanted some space to get her head straight. She smiled awkwardly and led him towards the door. He caught her wrist just before she turned the handle.

"Granger, listen…"

She looked at him. To her surprise, his swagger had dropped and he was looking a little vulnerable.

"After all we went through last year," he said, "I'm glad we've done this. It feels good to enjoy ourselves a bit, don't you think?"

Hermione's annoyance towards him softened significantly. She smiled at him and nodded. He took her hand and they opened the door, stepping out into the corridor together...

..straight into the path of Minerva McGonagall, the Headmistress of Hogwarts.

Her arms were crossed and a livid expression was fixed on her severe face. She glared at the pair with an intensity which would melt stone.

"Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy," she addressed them in an angry tone, "I have just received word that you were observed...coupling...in Professor Bins' classroom. I came down to investigate and now I find you leaving said classroom together looking dishevelled and flushed. Explain yourselves. ** _Quickly_**!"

Hermione found herself lost for words under the Headmistress' glare. She was shocked, embarrassed and scared of what the consequences might be. Draco stepped forwards and nudged her to a position slightly behind him.

"Did you say _observed_? What little pervert was spying then?" he demanded.

"Never you mind who it was, Mr Malfoy, you were engaging in an intimate sexual act on school property! In a classroom no less! I have no choice at all but to write to your parents immediately, Miss Granger, and your guardians, Mr Malfoy. This is utterly unacceptable behaviour!"

Hermione shrank even lower. The thought of her parents finding out was unthinkable.

"I want to see you individually in my office to discuss this tomorrow. I will send you each of you when I wish to see you." She unfolded her arms and shooed them away.

"To bed with you both. _Immediately_!"

Hermione climbed into her bed that night and sobbed herself to sleep. Her dreams were filled with Draco Malfoy and the furious face of McGonagall..


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N_**

 ** _Thank you all so much for your continued support! I'm not going to lie, this chapter was a bit of a struggle so big thank you to all of those who listened to my complaining and helped me get it down. This fic is likely to break a few 'Time Turner' rules but since these are a little fuzzy anyway, I hope I will be granted the artistic license to play a bit._**

* * *

 ** _6th January 1999_**

 **Why do this step at all? Pointless…**

The Half-Blood Prince's book had told her to skip the step, so she did. Hermione pushed her hair off her face again and continued reading with the potion bubbling in front of her.

 **Stir clockwise, don't follow this.**

"Ok, whatever you say…." Hermione muttered and followed the instruction. Slowly, the liquid started turning bright green.

She smiled and shut her book triumphantly.

"My goodness, Miss Granger!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed. "You even realised the typing error in the instructions! How perceptive of you! Oh, that reminds me: Class! There is a typing error on page sixty-five! It should read to stir clockwise, not anti-clockwise! Sorry, forgot to say!"

He beamed down at Hermione's workbench, seemingly unaware of the angry groans from the rest of the class around them.

"I must say, Miss Granger, you really are doing very well this year! Did you do some studying with young master Potter by any chance?"

Hermione shot him a sideways glance but smiled when his eyes were on her face.

"I've been trying to pay attention, Professor." she answered simply.

Slughorn's expression changed to one of concern. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You look tired, Miss Granger." He said gently.

Before she could reply, the door opened and a proud-looking first year walked up to Slughorn and handed him a note. The old man took it, placed his glasses on his nose, read it, then handed it back to the boy with a grave look on his face. He turned his gaze to Hermione and shook his head slightly.

"Professor McGonagall has requested to see you, Miss Granger." He said.

His words sent a wave of dread through Hermione's entire body. She gathered her things quickly while trying to ignore the looks of curiosity she was getting from the rest of the class.

Draco tried to catch her attention as she left the dungeon but she was too humiliated to stop and speak to him.

x

She followed the first year through the castle before arriving at the phoenix statue which hid the stairs.

"Password's 'Patronus'." The boy stated. He pulled another note out of his pocket, read the addressee on the front and marched off into the castle again.

Hermione was left staring after him. The hall fell silent again and all that could be heard was her shallow breathing. She had no idea how she had made so many bad choices which could have led her to the situation she now found herself. She just wanted to run, hide, and pretend nothing had happened.

She turned to face the stairs and sighed. "Patronus."

~0o0~

The office was decorated so beautifully, Hermione had to stop to look around herself as she entered the room.

Tables were draped in tartan fabric. There were a sofa and chairs arranged by the fire with matching tartan cushions adorning them with subtle cat embroidery in the corners. There were various vases dotted around, most containing fresh thistles and wildflowers.

The room felt non-threatening: like somewhere anyone would feel at ease.

Hermione felt herself relax slightly and walked up to the desk where the Headmistress was sat, eying her with interest.

She sat down and waited for the older witch to speak.

McGonigal leant forward in her chair and pushed a pot of hard-boiled sweets in Hermione's direction.

Hermione took one if only to give her nervous fingers something to fiddle with.

"Miss Granger, I am going to be blunt with you. I am deeply concerned." McGonigal started.

Hermione gulped and avoided the other witch's eyes.

"I have been looking over your year so far and the only class you are doing well in is potions. The rest of your schooling has slipped well below what we are all sure you are capable of. At this rate, you will be lucky to scrape an 'A' in most of your subjects."

Hermione gasped and blinked tears out of her eyes. She had not realised she was performing so poorly. The witch reflected quickly and realised she had been out enjoying herself with the other seventh years or studying Snape's old school book most evenings. Her homework was always rushed and not her usual standard and she had taken to daydreaming in lessons. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she felt her career in the ministry slipping away.

"Come now, Miss Granger, we won't be having _that!_ " McGonagall chided. She transfigured a spare parchment on the desk into a handkerchief and passed it to her kindly.

Hermione dried her eyes with the fabric and gripped it tightly for comfort. The Headmistress' tone and demeanour softened in the face of her distress.

"Perhaps Mrs Weasley was right. Perhaps you came back too early after all you went through last year…?" The older witch suggested. Hermione shook her head.

"And what should I have done?" She asked. "Dwell on the past? Sit around being miserable? Sorry, Professor, but I wanted to keep busy and work towards my future…"

She blinked and screwed up her hands, angry with herself.

"I don't think anyone was suggesting that. Perhaps you should be more focused on your emotional well-being and less on your studies for now?"

Hermione started to panic as the words sank in. Her mouth dropped open.

"Wait-Professor...are you asking me to _leave Hogwarts_?"

Professor McGonagall sat back on her chair and steepled her fingers. Her severe look returned to her face.

"Miss Granger. You participated in a _sexual_ act with another student in a _classroom after hours_. Were that your first misdemeanour I would have put that down to 'the folly of youth' and given you both detention until the end of the year. However, coupled with your repeated lateness to class, absenteeism, frequent incidents of you being found out of bed out of hours...well, I have no choice but to suspend you."

Hermione reasoned with herself that what was being said to her was just part of another one of her nightmares. She gritted her teeth and willed herself awake, but nothing happened aside from one of the vases smashing next to her.

The Headmistress cleared the mess with a wave of her wand.

"Miss Granger, obviously suspension would impact your schooling, therefore what I suggest is you take some voluntary time away instead and return to us again in September. If you leave due to your emotional health and take a sabbatical, that will be all that future employers will see…"

McGonagall was helping her, Hermione realised, but she was still asking her to leave the school.

The younger witch sank low in her seat and openly wept. She was aware of the Professor leaving her chair and comforting her but she was too upset to care. The great goody-two-shoes, she thought bitterly, asked to leave school for bad behaviour…

"I have a class now, Miss Granger," McGonagall told her. Her voice sounded strangely quiet, almost apologetic.

Hermione nodded in acknowledgement and started to stand up but she was eased back down.

"No, you stay here and pull yourself together. You deserve some dignity."

"Thank you, Professor."

X

Hermione wasn't sure how much time had passed while she had sobbed in McGonagall's office, but the sun had started going down by the time her misery had quieted enough to look around.

She held herself and reached for a boiled sweet. The sugary taste filled her mouth and went a small way to making her feel a little better.

She was just trying to decide how she was going to explain why she was leaving when she heard a cough from in front of her.

She looked up and to her surprise, in the large gilded frame behind the Headmistress' desk, was Albus Dumbledore.

Hermione almost spat the sweet out at the sight of him. The portrait chuckled at her reaction.

"I was starting to think I would have to start singing to get your attention, Miss Granger." He joked.

He continued talking while she stared at him. Her mind would not register it was Dumbledore having grown used to his being dead. It took several minutes of gawping while he was speaking until she finally started registering what was happening at all.

"...and I had told him to try the cherry flavour but you know what goblins are like!" he finished, beaming down at her.

Having missed the beginning of the story but feeling too polite to say so, she nodded in agreement and smiled in what she hoped was an appropriate way.

"But enough about my nonsense…" Dumbledore chuckled, "Let's talk about you, Miss Granger. I hear tales of your antics all around the castle. You have chosen a very bad year to develop a rebellious streak, wouldn't you say?"

Hermione blanched and shook her head sadly.

"The Professor has recommended I leave. I've ruined everything." She answered. "I suppose it's not the same with Harry and Ron and...Nothing's the same, why should I be?"

Dumbledore looked over his spectacles and smiled kindly at her.

"If only you'd have had _some kind of warning_ before embarking on such a reckless path." He stated.

His words carried weight as if he were trying to suggest something. It was lost on the young woman who blinked at him in reply, clueless.

This must be what Ron feel like most of the time… She thought to herself.

Dumbledore's eyes came to rest on the top drawer of the large oak desk. Hermione stayed where she was for some time before concluding she had nothing to lose and walked around the desk to where he was indicating.

On trying the drawer, she found it was locked. Hermione turned to look at Dumbledore, but his frame was empty.

Curiosity got the better of her, she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the lock.

"Alohomora…" she muttered.

The drawer clicked and Hermione reached forward and pulled it open. Her fingers traced the top of the wood before pulling it out to see inside.

There were papers...a box of chocolate frogs...a few spare quills...and nothing else.

Confused, Hermione drew back a bit and looked at the drawer again. What had Dumbledore been staring at if it wasn't inside?

As she stared she realised that the drawer looked deeper on the outside than it was inside…

"A hidden section…?" she wondered out loud.

Her clever fingers plunged back inside the desk and released the secret compartment. She grinned triumphantly. Whatever it was that Dumbledore wanted her to find, it must be within this section.

Inside the compartment were a few folded notes sealed with magic, Dolores Umbridge's blood quill and…

Hermione gasped as she gripped the chain and pulled it out of the drawer. She could not believe her eyes.

"My old time turner…" she exclaimed, "But...they destroyed them all…"

~0o0~

Second chances are a rare thing. One may encounter oneself going the opposite way if apparation goes wrong- a rarely spoken of phenomenon but a possibility nonetheless. One may even be able to take back words spoken in anger or seek forgiveness for a rash action. True second chances, _blank slates,_ are rarer than these. Hermione was being gifted this rare thing but, like many who feel they deserve the consequences of their mistakes, she had a hard time accepting that a second chance was what was on offer to her.

 ** _7th January 1999_**

Hermione held the time turner up over her head and stared at it for the fourth time that night. She was in bed, covers pulled up to her chin, trying to decide what to do. As usual these days, her companions included the Half-Blood Prince's book and half a bottle of whisky.

She sipped her drink and rubbed her eyes.

 _I could go back to the night I slept with Malfoy...there was a moment I can stop myself in the hall before I follow him down to the classroom?_

She furrowed her brow. The hallway was a little open, she'd have to be very quick as not to be seen.

 _I could go back to the beginning of the year! She thought. I could leave myself a note to be more studious this year or face leaving…_

She tried not to cry at the thought of the journey awaiting her the following day but the tears could not be held back. She climbed out of bed, her mind made up and wiped her face clean.

X

It was almost one in the morning by the time Hermione Granger made it outside the castle. She carried with her her school bag complete with books, her time turner and a note written to herself in the past. She pulled her school robes tightly around herself to keep out the bitter chill of the night air and walked out to just after the line of trees of the Forbidden Forest and pulled out her time turner.

"Goodbye, mistakes!" She said to herself drunkenly. "I'm ready to go back to being top of the class again."

She spun the time turner once, twice, three times...for was that four times? She giggled and assumed three before turning it another couple of times. She tried to concentrate harder but her hands were too unsteady and slipped, spinning the turner wildly backwards. She lost count completely in the confusion and started to panic as the turner spun and the world dissolved around her.

"Shit what have I done?!" She exclaimed, though just as she felt hopeless, the world stopped whipping past her and she found herself standing where she had started.

She stared around, scared out of her wits. What had she done? _When_ was she?

Clutching her bag, she made her way out into the darkness of the grounds, being careful to look around for any midnight wanderers first.

The castle looked the same, as did the grounds. She reasoned with herself she could not have gone back to the Dark Ages or any time too far back. She looked around for clues but the grounds were eerily quiet.

 _Too quiet..._ A small voice said in her head.

Hermione summoned up her bravery and ventured towards the castle. As she got to around half way across, however, a sound rang out which made her blood run cold: the unmistakable howl of a werewolf…

Quick as she could she turned and started running for the edge of the forest. She could hide, she figured, until the beast had gone. But who was it?

 _What if I'm back to last year and this is Greyback!_ She worried as she ran. The witch could not think of anything worse than coming face to face with that monster…

Breathlessly she ran and found refuge behind a massive oak where she pressed her back and gasped for air.

The beast was hot on her heels. She could hear it's snarling as it approached her hiding spot.

Hermione reached into her pocket for her wand and crouched down, managing to roll with her bag still attached to her behind a tree further back.

Again, she heard the beast close by but stayed as silent as she could and prayed it would leave her alone.

She heard it sniff the air, then the curious noise of a dog barking.

Hermione risked a glance. Sure enough, a massive black dog was leading the werewolf away from her…

 _Sirius? It can't be!_

Hermione crawled through the leaves and roots for some time before she felt brave enough to look around in the open. She popped out near to Hagrid's cabin, the pumpkin patch still dusted with a layer of snow.

There was no sign of the werewolf, much to Hermione's relief.

"Didn't they tell you not to go out onto the grounds at night?"

Someone asked from behind her.

Hermione spun round and held out her wand before gasping. Sirius put his hands up in mock surrender and smirked at her, his curly black hair falling slightly over his eyes as he did so.

Except this Sirius was younger than the man she had known…

Much younger….

The witch lowered her wand and stared with her jaw falling open slightly. He was wearing school robes, his hair was shorter and he appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years of age…

"Easy, I'm actually here to help!" He protested. "You mind putting that away?"

"What year is it?" Hermione asked quickly.

Sirius looked confused for a moment, then chuckled.

"You just got back from the Three Broomsticks by any chance?" he asked.

Hermione nodded, hoping he would leave his questioning there. He walked up to her and held her hand, lowering her wand himself. He smiled which she could not help but return.

"You smell like Fire Whisky…" he murmured, still grinning, "I like whisky…"

Hermione had never found Sirius attractive before. She supposed it was either the age gap or the tortured demeanour from his solitude in Azkaban.

Now, however, as his youthful eyes twinkled at her in the moonlight, she found herself mesmerised.

"You don't want to be out here on your own, Miss…?"

Hermione searched for a name quickly. She had liked one from childhood and it spilt out of her mouth as if it were her own:

"I'm Rose." She replied. "Rose Delacour from Beauxbaton's Academy."

"Sirius Black, it's lovely to make your acquaintance, Rose. Why don't you come back to the castle with me? I can make sure you're safe?"

Hermione found herself blushing. She wasn't sure if it was caused by the alcohol or his gentlemanly tone.

"Sure. Thank you, Sirius…"

He reached down and took her hand in his. She met his eyes and smiled giddily before allowing herself to be led up to the castle.

"By the way," he said en route, "the year is 1977…"


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N**_

 _ **Apologies for the delay! I moved house and the internet took a lot longer to get set up than I had initially hoped. I hope you are all well, thank you for your wonderful reviews, follows and favourites, as well as those of you chatting to me on my social media pages.**_

 _ **Much love, LilahMontgomery**_

* * *

 ** _22nd September 1977_**

Walking hand in hand with a dead man from the past was more than Hermione's fragile mind could cope with.

Earlier in the day she had been asked to leave Hogwarts. Later on, she had made a terrible mistake with using the time turner. She was then chased by a werewolf, only to be saved by her best friend's dead Godfather.

 _I've got to get out of here! Who knows what damage I could be causing already_! She thought frantically.

Sirius' calmness was proving infectious though… His hand gripped hers with a gentle firmness and he kept glancing back and smiling at her in a way no one had ever done before.

Hermione could not help herself but be swept along by his confidence. They stopped near the Fat Lady and Sirius turned to face her.

"So, where are you staying?" He asked conversationally.

Hermione blinked a few times and struggled to engage her whisky-soaked brain.

"I'm supposed to be staying with the Gryffindor House, wherever that is…" She replied as convincingly as possible.

He smiled broadly and spread his arms out in a dramatic gesture.

"Then welcome, Miss Rose! That must be why they gave you our House tie! Certainly, explains the spare bed in the girl's dorm…"

Hermione cocked her head to one side.

 _There's a spare bed? There's never a spare bed-whose bed is that supposed to be?_

Panicking slightly but reassuring herself that the real occupant was unlikely to appear in the middle of the night, Hermione nodded.

Satisfied, Sirius walked up to the Fat Lady Portrait and coughed for attention.

"Magical mayhem," he said.

The portrait swung open and Sirius looked around for an impressed response. Arranging her features into those of surprise, Hermione gave him just that before following him into the common room.

Except, it looked different.

The Banners with their proud lions on them hung around the room were of a slightly different design than the ones she had come to know. The upholstery on the sofas and chairs was different as well and the rug by the fire was a deeper shade of red, she was sure of it.

It looked odd, disconcerting and confusing.

Sirius, unaware of her discomfort, laughed and swaggered around the room.

"Yes, it's impressive, isn't it?" he asked arrogantly.

Hermione mentally shook herself and nodded. "Beautiful…"

"Do they have common rooms like this at Beauxbatons?" He asked.

Hermione nodded and tried to remember what Fleur had told her about the French school but Sirius didn't seem interested. He took her hand again and indicated the staircase leading to the girl's dorm.

"Top of the stairs," he said, "I'm sure your things are up there already. The other girl in the room is called Lily, she's a friend of mine, ask her if you need anything."

Hermione thanked him and walked up the stairs, unsure of what else to do. She rounded the corner and found the spare bed: a four poster with luxurious sheets and scarlet curtains hung all around it.

 _I'll just sleep off the whisky, then when I wake up, I'll do the calculation and use the time turner to get back to my own time!_

Satisfied she had a plan, Hermione quickly dumped her school bag and started getting undressed. As she pulled her shirt over her head, however, she registered a problem. She reached down and started to frantically claw at her neck, then rummaged through her coat, jumper and top. No, no doubt about it, the time turner was missing.

Desperately, she clawed at her hair trying to work out where it could have gone. She had been so enamoured with Sirius Black she had not noticed when it had gone missing.

 _It may have come off when I was being chased in the forest! She realised. But there's no way I'd find it in there!_

Time turners, it was known, were resistant to spells and charms. This prevented lazier wizards from using them 'hands-free' but also prevented thieves from casting Accio and stealing them from unsuspecting wizard's pockets.

As Hermione stood panicking, with no way of getting home magically or otherwise, she had no idea that the worst was still yet to come…

~0o0~

"...and you just found her there in the forest? Hiding from Moony?"

"Yeah! Can you believe it? Lucky I was there or we'd have been picking bones out of your teeth, Remus!"

"Shut up, Sirius, that's not funny!"

"Oh, don't be so sensitive, Moony! I'm only joking! Ah, here she is! Rose, do sit down!"

Hermione nervously approached the bench at the breakfast table in the Great Hall, the view too odd to fully take in.

There at the table sat James Potter (the spitting image of Harry though as if Harry had a brother), Sirius Black, Remus Lupin (looking young, dashing and a little ill) and…

"Peter Pettigrew!" She found herself saying out loud.

The mousy haired boy to her right, sitting down, jumped at the sound of his name and looked at her apologetically.

Although he was clearly the same person as the evil man she had known, he looked a lot smaller, weaker somehow… His eyes flicked over her face, searching for recognition.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" He asked quickly. James, next to him, nudged him in a jovial way which made Hermione's blood boil with the knowledge she possessed.

"Been to France much, Wormtail?" He asked.

"I've just heard people say your name, that's all…" Hermione lied while taking a seat next to a grinning Sirius. Peter seemed to accept this explanation and hung his head slightly.

"People say things," he said, his voice shaking slightly, "I'm ok once you get to know me…"

"Course you are!" Sirius said, leaning over the table and clinking glasses with him, "One of the gang, right, Moony?"

Remus, Hermione noticed, was eying her suspiciously from across his side of the table. He murmured a reply and smiled when he saw her looking in his direction.

"Hi, everyone!" A woman's voice greeted from behind her. A red-haired girl sat down next to Hermione and turned to face her, smiling in a warm, friendly way.

"Hi, you must be Rose? I'm Lily Evans."

Hermione took her handshake as it was offered, half stunned. Here they both were...Harry's mum and dad… the weirdness of it was too much for a few moments.

"Hi, you," James said to Lily adoringly, "how was your night?"

"Was ok!" Lily replied, buttering some toast, "Apparently Rose and I slept together…"

"Really?" James asked, grinning and leaning forwards, "Go on?"

Lily huffed, half annoyed, half amused.

"In the _same room_. But she was up before me so I didn't have a chance to speak to her before now. Honestly, James, you knew what I meant!"

"Oh, was that all? That's much more boring then." James replied, rolling his eyes. Peter laughed a big belly laugh at James' joke, clearly besotted with the boy. Hermione felt like retching. Just then, someone caught James' attention walking past the table.

"Hi, Snivellus!" James bellowed, "You're looking nice and creepy today!"

Hermione went rigid at the sound of Snape's old school nickname and was too scared to turn around.

"Go suck a Flubberworm, prick." Came the nasty, spat reply.

"Rude!" James answered in mock outrage as the other marauders laughed around him.

Lily passed Hermione the milk and rolled her eyes at them.

"Friend of yours?" Hermione asked James when the boys had stopped laughing. James flashed her a smirk and placed his hands behind his head.

"Severus Snape," James explained, "Creepy, greasy weirdo who loves killing cats and Dark Arts…"

Hermione nearly spat out her breakfast.

"Did you say killing cats?" She asked.

James shrugged. "I dunno, he probably does. He's into creepy stuff, that's all I know!"

"He doesn't kill cats, ignore James, Rose," Lily said. She started gathering her bag, as did the boys. The Great Hall started bustling as students and teachers alike started making their way out and to their first lessons.

"What's your first class? Do you need help finding it?" Lily offered.

"I'll take her!" Sirius volunteered.

Hermione shook her head.

"Private tuition in the library," she lied, "I'll see you at lunchtime."

Sirius headed off with James, Remus and Peter while Lily walked alongside Hermione through the throng of other students.

"One thing about Severus?" Lily said after a while. "They weren't lying about the Dark Arts thing. I used to be friends with him and...he's not someone you want to go anywhere near. If you don't mind the advice, that is..."

"Don't worry," Hermione answered, "I'm not as helpless as I look, believe me!"

Lily nudged her and started to peel off down the hall to the Defense against Dark Arts classroom.

"Oh, Rose!" She called, "Sirius has his eye on you. Stay away from him too!"

Both girls laughed and made their own ways to their destinations. Hermione's mind was buzzing with excitement. The library would hold the answer to getting home, she had no doubt of it.

X

Hermione spent all morning researching time turners but information about them even existing was sparse, to say the least. She felt incredibly deflated as she placed the last book back onto the shelf and glanced at her notes.

With very little to go on she resolved her only options were to either retrieve her own time turner or somehow acquire another one…

Just as she was turning to leave, she heard a familiar voice behind the bookshelves.

"-I don't know how I'll get it but leave it to me and I will!"

"You've said that before, Severus, you didn't manage to get the lacewing though, did you?"

" **Yet** , I haven't sourced them **yet**. Look, I'm a potions king, ok, I'll get it done!"

"You'd better be telling me the truth, you slimy git! I've paid you a lot of Galleons just to get pissed around for a week!"

"You'll get it, trust me."

"I don't but you come highly recommended. Thank Lucius Malfoy for the fact I'm not kicking your teeth in right now!"

"Pleasure as always…"

A large, nasty looking Ravenclaw boy came round the bookcase directly in front of Hermione who squeaked in surprise. He all but knocked her over as he hurried past, his expression angry and harassed. Not wishing to be there when Snape came down the aisle too, she turned and started walking away, but like the adult version of himself, Severus Snape somehow appeared out of nowhere and sneered at her.

Hermione stopped dead and stared at the boy before her.

He was slightly shorter than she remembered him being. His long, hooked nose and darting eyes were present on his face but somehow the shadows and unpleasantness were absent. He was striking, young and intimidating without the darkness the years had added. Hermione found herself thinking him quite handsome if a little bit of an acquired taste…

He flicked his dark hair out of his eyes and glared at her with a force she was more than used to after being taught by him for five years.

"Spying, are we?" he muttered, his voice barely audible yet injected with pure venom. Hermione felt herself shrinking away from him out of fear and habit.

"I was just putting a book back, actually." she replied.

He wore the same expression as he had whenever she had spoken to him in his adult years: a mixture of distaste and annoyance.

"A likely story," he snapped, stepping closer. "I saw you with Black and Potter at breakfast-" Hermione noted how he virtually spat their names- "they sent you to spy on me, didn't they?"

Hermione took a breath and calmed herself. This version of Snape was not her teacher and therefore had no power over her. She met his eyes with conviction and smiled.

"I'm just a visitor to this school and have no interest in your business or feuds," she explained with an edge to her tone. She stepped forward and challenged him to stay where he was rather than letting her pass. He sneered at her and sarcastically bowed as he stepped aside, grunting a laugh as she got around a foot away. She turned on her heel and glared at him.

"Problem?" she asked.

He leant against the bookcase in a casual way which she would have considered unlike him.

"You're not Black's usual arm candy." he replied, "You actually have a brain in your head by the look of it. That's weird."

"I'm not anyone's 'arm candy' thank-you-very-much!" She snapped back. She smirked to herself and returned his look. "It's a bit cliche, isn't it?" she asked, "a lonely, tortured genius hanging out in the library on his own?"

Snape seemed taken aback and rolled his eyes. "I have homework," he said simply.

"Why is no one else here then?"

"So you _are_ clever. You're _definitely_ not his type."

With that, he turned on his heel and left her, his manner as abrupt as ever.

X

Hermione shook herself out of her conversation with Snape after a few moments and decided to look for the time turner in the forest where she had encountered wolf-Lupin. She made her way down to the grounds and searched for the rest of the afternoon but to no avail. Her way home had been lost.

Feeling hopeless, Hermione started to walk back to the castle for dinner. How could this have happened? What would she do now?

"You must be Miss Rose Delacour. How very nice to finally meet you."

Hermione's blood turned to ice as she started to panic. Dumbledore's voice had come from behind her, she had made it to the entrance to the grounds but found herself rooted to the spot, unable to turn.

"I-I…" She spluttered.

Dumbledore surely knew something was up. He knew everything that went on at Hogwarts and would likely now remove her from the castle entirely. She found her courage and turned to look into his blue, twinkling eyes.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir." she greeted.

He smiled warmly and nodded. His robes were a deep purple with stars and moons embroidered all over them. His long silver beard was as she remembered it and his half-moon spectacles kept his bright blue eyes tucked away behind them. She couldn't help but feel intense joy on seeing him.

"I would like to welcome you to Hogwarts, Miss Rose. I trust you are finding the Gryffindor Dormitory to your liking?" His eyes sparkled knowingly while Hermione searched them for answers. She found him as unfathomable as she always had.

"Remember if you find yourself lost, you can always find help at Hogwarts…" he told her slowly, "In fact, that goes for anyone or anything which becomes lost to us. Things have a habit of turning up, you'll discover."

Hermione nodded though she was completely confused. He gave her one last smile before walking into the Great Hall, leaving a stunned Hermione in his wake.

~0o0~

"Sirius...Sirius…"

She wasn't sure why she was in the boy's dorm, nor why she felt so compelled to be at Sirius' bedside, but she suspected it was her need to feel protected and not so alone.

A million thoughts had swirled around her head as she'd tried to sleep that evening but without whisky to quieten her mind, she had been unable to drift off. She felt drawn to the familiarity of Sirius Black, despite the oddness of time travelling to his past.

Her target opened his eyes and looked at her sleepily before moving over and tugging off his covers for her to climb in.

She stared at the bed for a long moment before doing so.

"Muffliato…" she spelled, then tucked her wand under Sirius' pillow.

She found herself very close to him despite his moving over. She could feel his heat and the smell of him-pine with a hint of freshly cut grass- filled her nose. He smiled at her and shuffled a little closer.

"Can't sleep?" He muttered.

Hermione shook her head and propped herself up on one elbow.

"Say I'd lost something… would you be able to find it?"

Sirius propped himself up to mirror her and looked thoughtful.

"Depends on what it is…? Have you lost something?"

"On the night you found me stumbling around, I lost my necklace. It's a family heirloom so it's really important to me…"

It was a long shot, but Hermione had considered that Sirius in dog form may be able to use his nose to find her time turner under the dense foliage of the forest.

I just need to convince him to help me...she decided.

She looked down at Sirius' handsome face and smiled to herself.

She had been told that Sirius Black had been popular with young women before his imprisonment. Now that she had met this younger version, she could certainly see why. Like Snape, he did not have the shadows of his past plastered within the fine lines of his face but instead there was vigour of youth and fire. She found herself reaching out and tucking his hair behind his ear so as to see him more clearly.

He smiled at the gesture and took her hand in his.

"You know, this may sound odd-I know we've only just met- but I really feel a connection with you…" he said quietly.

His words filled her stomach with butterflies and she felt a little exposed under his eyes in her borrowed pyjamas.

"Oh yeah…?" She asked. She knitted her fingers with his and rubbed his hand with her thumb.

"I really do… So, tell me about yourself. You've got an English accent but go to school in France and have a French name. Did a Frenchman steal your mother's heart?"

"That's a poetic way of putting it," Hermione answered.

Hermione Granger had really only ever gone for one type of man, as much as she hated admitting it. They tended to be tall, athletic and as much as she hated to admit it- intellectually inferior to her. She liked being the one in control, the only exception being Draco Malfoy, who somehow broke every rule yet still intrigued her.

Sirius was as crafty as a Slytherin but had a sweet nature which she had always found reassuring. And like Draco- he was deliciously charming when he wanted to be.

 _A connection…? I have known him for a long time and helped save him in our third year...Maybe he feels that bond even through time?_

The thought excited her and their eyes locked. She leant forwards and let him gently kiss her lips before shyly retreating again.

She had kissed Sirius Black. Hermione felt giddy.

"You'll be at breakfast? I'll have a word with the boys and see if we can help you find your necklace in the morning," he promised.

His eyes were so big and genuine, Hermione felt a glimmer of hope. She reluctantly withdrew from his bed, wished him a fond goodnight and half floated up to her and Lily's dorm room.

~0o0~

Snakes are an animal with so many variations it can be hard to identify them all. From the ambush hunters of the vipers to the majestic sea snakes of the elapid family, they are everywhere and are extremely successful. The Basilisk, which shares an ancestor with modern snakes, was thought to be extinct until the skeleton of one recently deceased was discovered in a chamber at Hogwarts when the new sewage pipes were installed in 2019. This sums them up: they are surprisingly resilient and adaptable and are often found where one least expects. In a Lion's den, for example…

Hermione Granger, at this point, did not know she was being circled by both a King Cobra and a Pit Viper...


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Apologies once again for the delay! The Montgomery Family increased by a member last week, quite out of the blue, so I am as delighted as I am sleep deprived! I have such a wonderful plan with this work though so I hope readers will stick with it or at least revisit once it's written.**_

 _ **Thank you as usual for the follows, faves and reviews! It's so lovely to read people's thoughts and they often allow me to see my work in a different way, as well as giving me warm fuzzies.**_

 _ **Enough rambling. Enjoy Chapter 5**_

 _ **LilahMontgomery**_

* * *

In order to feel lost, one must first embrace the fact that one is without direction and is not in a place one thought. Wizards and muggles alike have pondered this conundrum: how do you find yourself when you do not realise you have been misplaced?

Consider the curious tale of Penett Skater, a goblin originally from the south of Kent. He spent his entire adult life on a keen quest for gold, experienced many hardships and learned many lessons along the way, only to wind up right back at his own front door.

How could he not have realised, you may wonder, that he was walking a large circle? The answer is simple: He did not think for a moment that he was lost and therefore did not bother to check.

It is when we are at our most free and comfortable that we find ourselves at our most vulnerable.

* * *

 _ **28th September 1977**_

"Have you got the Murtlap?" Snape whispered behind the shelves.

"Yeah, it's gross! You owe me for this and the lacewing I got for you yesterday! Don't you forget!"

"I won't. Relax! I'll do you two more bottles, plus a cheat sheet for next week's test if you just get me one more thing…?"

"..."

"Look," Hermione pressed her ear to the shelf to hear him as the young version of Snape dipped his voice down. "I'll have enough Polyjuice to get you a day as me if you just get you this last thing. I'm a seventh year, you realise that means: I can leave the castle in free periods! How would you like the see Hogsmeade?"

"Fine, I'll do it… what do you need?"

"Squill bulbs. Three of them-"

"No way! I'm not breaking into the greenhouse! I'll get caught!"

"That's why I use you," Snape muttered. It sounded like he had gritted his teeth. "You know ways around these things. You'll work it out, I'm sure."

"What are you brewing, Sev?" The other boy asked slightly fearfully.

Snape didn't answer but there was a shuffling of feet. The younger boy started panting, though from her look out point, Hermione could tell why.

"Alright, don't get like that! Put your wand away!" The younger boy protested.

"You know the deal. If you help me, I'll reward you. You don't ask questions though- got it?"

"Yes, Severus, It's cool- you can put that away now!"

x

Hermione shook her head in disapproval and climbed down off the shelf she had been using and exited the library as quickly as she could.

Half way down the corridor, Sirius rushed out to meet her.

"Well? Were we right?" He asked.

Hermione nodded and allowed him to take her hand and lead her to one side.

"He's brewing Polyjuice potion, he admitted that. He's making something else though too… It sounded familiar but I'm not sure what it is…"

"Slimy git!" Sirius snapped, taking Hermione by surprise, "James suspected he was brewing on the side but Polyjuice? That's really bad…"

Hermione was inclined to agree. She was struck with Sirius' ferocity and couldn't help admire his passion to right wrong.

She realised he was looking at her as she emerged from her musing.

"You looked really beautiful just then," he told her, "Really lost in your own head…"

Hermione smiled. She struggled to recall a nicer compliment, certainly in recent years…

Sirius leaned forwards and kissed her forehead before gently taking her hand again and tugging her to walk beside him. "We have a study group taking place on the grounds, you'll join us?"

"Of course," Hermione said, "we can discuss the necklace then?"

He squeezed her hand and nodded while they walked out onto the grounds towards the great lake.

x

Hermione kept thinking how surreal everything was. The hair fashion was different, the style of robes, the slang words- it was all so familiar but alien all at once.

She spotted Lupin, Wormtail, Lily and James all sitting on the grass by a weeping willow tree ahead. Sirius gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and the two sat down with them.

Lily spotted the hand-holding and raised an eyebrow.

"So, Snivelly is into the illegal brewing business, as thought," Sirius reported. James let out a heavy sigh and cocked his head to one side, very much as Harry did when he was thinking.

"We'd have to actually catch him at it. What was it you heard which makes you so sure?" James asked.

"Rose heard him, tell them, Rose…"

Hermione nodded grimly and recalled Snape's conversation with the others.

Lupin leant forward, a very concerned look on his face.

"Who was he speaking to? Did you get a name?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head and glanced at James. He wore a very serious expression.

"It'll be Seamus Gladstone," Peter said after a while.

The others looked at him in surprise.

"I was in detention with him with Slughorn," he explained, "he was there for stealing supplies."

A likely story. You probably know them from your Death Eater pals! Hermione thought angrily. She balled her hand into a fist and distracted herself by watching the water on the lake.

She felt Sirius place his hand on her back and enjoyed his fingers tracing circles on it. She smiled to herself before realising that Lily was staring right at her.

"Can I have a word, Rose?" Lily asked, standing up.

Sensing Lily was annoyed with her, Hermione rose carefully and walked a small distance away before speaking.

"I know what you're going to say…" she began.

"About how I warned you about Sirius? You go back soon, don't you? Why not save yourself the heartbreak. I've seen him use so many girls, I really don't want you to get hurt…"

Hermione felt anger rise up in her. It felt similar to when Neville had caught her drinking. Hermione had fought in a war and won, why did people insist on trying to protect her as if she couldn't handle life?

"I'll be fine," she said, her voice firm. Lily shook her head but seemed to have decided against continuing the conversation. They talked about France for a while (Hermione making up stories based on her various family holidays there) and rejoined the others.

"We're going to have a look for your necklace tonight, Rosie," Sirius proudly announced from his seat on the grass between James and Lupin.

"What does it look like?" James asked.

Hermione smiled. Hope at last!

"It's a golden hourglass on a long chain."

"Like a time turner?" asked Lupin.

Hermione felt herself starting to panic slightly but nodded.

"It's a replica, a symbol of time passing…" she improvised.

The boys nodded and started making plans on how they would split themselves up to find it later on. Hermione started making plans for her escape back to her own life…

~0o0~

 ** _15th October 1977_**

"God! Yes!"

Hermione was in a world of her own. Her vision had started to fill with vibrant colour and beautiful patterns and her heart sang with euphoria.

She felt Severus' hand travel down her leg and up under her skirt. She parted her knees for him and rolled her head back on the grass.

The colours in her vision had started sparkling and flashing. A wall of technicolour danced before her eyes, warmth spreading between her legs as her lover's fingertips traced the outside of her underwear.

She was both aware of his motions and not. The physical, emotional and spiritual parts of her had started to seamlessly blend until her very thoughts were as much a part of her body as her floating arms and legs.

"Can I touch you, Rose?" she heard him ask. He sounded so far away, echoing on a sea of time. Why was he asking her that? Someone was touching her already weren't they? Did she mind?

Hermione tried to answer in words humans on Earth would understand but she had slipped beyond such things. She gripped her wand and cast a shimmering Patronus instead, filled with her most precious thoughts and feelings. She hoped he would understand.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'…" he replied.

He had. Good.

Hermione's lower body was engulfed in wet, devouring pleasure, the likes of which she had never known. She sighed and hooked her legs around his shoulders, savouring his wonderful skill and relishing the delights of his mouth.

Her soul filled with pure joy, unadulterated and beautiful. Her mind swam with the powers of the potion she had consumed a few hours earlier.

Her body had started to feel white hot until she bucked her hips and cried out, riding the waves of her orgasm.

Her lover's face appeared in her view, wiping his lips and smiling oh-so-sweetly.

"So, what do you think of Dark Magic now, Miss Rose?" he asked. His tongue flicked over her neck and he parted her legs to settle himself between them. His hand was in her hair and he was kissing her throat by the time she found any words at all.

"I think…" she managed after much effort, "I think…"

"Yes?"

She gasped as her body was subjected to wave after wave of pleasure, emanating from her core. She realised he was moving on top of her, kissing her cheeks while he made love to her. In that moment, Hermione Granger experienced completeness for the first time in her life. He had been right about everything. He was a genius, how could he have been anything but?

Severus Snape, her Potions Master, was the love of her life. She was overcome with the idea and gasped. After all this time? How could she not have known?

She cast her mind back to when she was his student. Hadn't she believed in him? Defended him?

"I think it's wonderful!" she whispered, her hands delicately finding his face as her body started to feel more 'real' again. His eyes locked with hers and their souls entwined.

"So do I," he replied.

Severus Snape was the love of her life. She would go to the ends of the Earth for him and love him passionately and eternally.

She jolted in pleasure and gripped him for dear life. The world spun again around them leaving ghost trails of stars shooting across her vision.

So perfect. So wrong. So right.

She gazed up at him, her mind swirling in the ether.

She would love him forever and protect him fiercely….

a bitter tear came to her eye…

just as he had loved Lily…

~0o0~

 ** _29th September 1977_**

Hermione gave James a pleading look before finally accepting defeat and allowing the tears to flow down her face. Helplessness engulfed her in a way she had never allowed during the war. Sirius caught hold of her as she collapsed into the sofa and wept bitterly into his robes. She felt him rubbing her arms and kissing her head but felt no comfort from it.

"I'm really sorry, Rose. I know that necklace meant a lot to you! We'll keep our eyes peeled…" Remus told her softly. Hermione shook her head and buried her face deeper into Sirius' chest.

"Someone must have taken it…" she stuttered, "shit shit shit!"

"I'm sorry, Rose! We did all we could!" Peter added from his spot on the floor.

Hermione tried to ignore the rage building in her chest at the mere sound of his voice and continued to sob.

Slowly, the boys left, one by one, leaving just Hermione and Sirius by the fire in the common room.

She came to after a while and pulled her sticky face off the young man's chest. Confused, she looked around for the others.

"You must have drifted off, they've all gone to bed I'm afraid…" Sirius said kindly. He leant towards her and tugged a curl from her face.

I must look awful! She found herself thinking as she looked into his gentle eyes.

He reached forwards, cupped her cheek and pressed a careful kiss to her lips. The young woman felt her fears evaporating and she leant in for more.

A few more careful pecks became a slow passion, mouths sliding together in gentle heat and patient want. Hermione sighed as she kissed him. She put out of her mind who he was and rather how he was making her feel. Since her fumble with Draco and heartbreak of Ron, she wanted nothing more than to escape and enjoy another's touch, someone else's attention.

She felt his hand slipping into her top and she lay down on the sofa, allowing his exploration. He cupped her breast as his lips returned to hers, his hand kneading her chest through her bra, his other hand travelling downwards to her skirt.

It was then that she started feeling odd.

Try as she might, she could not seem to separate the man on top of her, enjoying her breasts, and the man she has sat in the kitchen with at Grimmauld Place.

His smell was the same. His quiet gasps were the same…

 _Shit…_

Hermione stopped kissing back and waited for him to realise. He seemed slightly insistent on continuing but after she stopped reciprocating, he pulled away and looked down at her, his face a mask of confusion.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," she said, retrieving his hand from under her top and kissing his fingers. "I'm really not feeling like this tonight…"

Sirius looked disappointed but shook his head and smiled before helping her sit up.

"Sorry, of course." he agreed.

He stood up quickly and straightened out his clothes. Hermione stood and did the same.

"We should probably get to bed then," he muttered, the hurt in his eyes barely masked.

Hermione nodded and kissed his cheek.

"I'll see you at breakfast…," she said.

* * *

Bobbing on the ocean of time, Hermione Granger finds herself lost. As the serpents continue to circle, the way ahead seems hopeless. In order to see the beacons already calling her home, she must start to look for them.

 **"There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it."**

 **― George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman**


	6. Chapter 6

_**1st October 1977**_

Hermione had spent two days in the library intensively searching for a way to either get back home magically or find the time turner.

She was starting to lose hope and became locked in a blind panic when her request to venture into the restricted section was denied.

"I'm sorry, but unless I have a permission from your actual school, I can't allow you to access that information…" Madam Pince explained with a suspicious edge to her voice.

Hermione did not want to draw attention to herself in case the librarian contacted 'her school' so nodded and started walking away. She got to the third row of shelves towards the door before she was tugged by the arm and pulled between them.

She whipped out her wand and pointed it at the throat of the person who had grabbed her: it was a startled looking Severus Snape.

"Woah! Quick reflexes!" he cried. He threw his hands up in surrender. "Do they keep you battle ready in France or are you just up to something?"

Hermione scowled at him and carefully tucked her wand back into her pocket.

She stared at Snape with what she hoped was intimidating intensity.

He held her gaze with a smirk flickering on his thin lips.

"What's funny?" she snapped.

He eased off the shelf she had him pressed against and stepped towards her.

"I misjudged you…" he muttered.

Hermione was taken aback and just blinked in reply.

"You see," Snape continued, pressing her gently against the shelves behind her, "Sirius Black says you're a cock-tease. I have to say I find the thought that you led him on rather delicious…"

Hermione baulked and glared at him.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"He's told everyone you left him with blue balls the other night. Some of the Slytherins were laughing about it at breakfast this morning. Black hasn't been turned down since the second year, I think he's heartbroken…"

Hermione felt tears prickling in her eyes. It was certainly not the first time she'd been gossiped about but it hurt all the same. The school in this timeline did not know anything about her, nor the situation, yet somehow she was being judged.

"Listen carefully and tell your pals: I'll shag whoever I want to and I can say no whenever I like too! It's no one's business but my own-got it?"

The memories of her time being told off by Ron came screaming back to her, the Yule Ball in particular.

Snape did not seem put off by her reaction, in fact, quite the opposite. He smiled warmly and stepped back to give her space.

"I do love an empowered woman," he mused. "Intelligent, forceful, said no to Sirius Black...I think you may have been designed for me…"

Hermione was silenced again. The idea that an ex-teacher of hers could be attracted to her was odd, though she almost forgot who he was as he stood before her, seventeen years old.

"I know you're into Dark Arts and hate Muggle-Borns," she quipped after finding her voice, "and that you're stealing school supplies and running an illegal potions ring!"

Snape looked impressed and put his hands in his pockets in a casual way his adult self would never have done.

"I don't think any of that would hold you back, Rose. I think you like danger and I think you realise it follows me."

He ran his fingers through his hair thoughtfully.

"Tell you what," he said. "Why don't you meet me by the South Entrance at eight pm tonight? I'll show you what the potions are for?"

Hermione blinked, unsure of what to say. Finally, she nodded.

"Great. See you later…" Snape spun around and walked away leaving a stunned Hermione behind him.

~0o0~

Later that evening, Hermione stood at the Southern Entrance to the castle and stared out at the Forbidden Forest beyond.

She felt very anxious as the wind blew her hair in the crisp evening. She pulled her cloak around herself and shivered.

It was curiosity which drove her to the doorway to meet a young man she knew to be a Dark Magic user, not yet morally reformed. However, as she had read her Potions book a few hours previously, she found that she could not help but be drawn to him.

Perhaps it was the intellectual challenge he presented?

Perhaps she was just bored.

Hermione reasoned that she could handle herself and looked around for signs of life.

"You came!" Severus Snape's voice exclaimed from behind her.

She smirked at him and followed him towards the forest.

"So, you're using a potion? What kind?" she asked as they made their way across the grounds.

He glanced at her over his shoulder and kept walking at a brisk pace.

"One of my own design. You'll like it though Dumbledore would have a fit if he knew we were using such a things…"

"Why? What does it do?"

"You'll have to find out!" Snape chuckled and continued on.

The pair pushed their way through the trees until Hermione could no longer see the lights of the castle. She started to get a knot in the stomach as fear twisted in with intrigue.

Snape led them deep amongst the trees before he came to a stop in a clearing.

"Here we are. I think we're deep enough…" he observed.

Hermione could not see anything unique about the clearing and could not think why he had stopped at that particular point in the woods. Her confusion must have registered as he smiled at her and waved his wand without a word.

The leaves on the floor transformed into a comfortable looking rug made of knitted forest debris.

"So, Rose. Are you curious enough to taste Dark Magic?"

He reached into his robes and produced a potion of midnight blue.

Hermione stared at it. She tried to remember if she had read about a potion like the one he was holding in her books.

"What does it do…?" She asked hesitantly.

"Do I have to give you all the answers?" he asked. He poured a little into the cap of the bottle and offered it to her. She shook her head.

"Come on, Rose. Where's your sense of adventure?" he goaded.

Hermione thought carefully. She trusted Snape's abilities would mean the potion did what he wanted it to… but what did he want it to do?

Her curiosity got the better of her when he took a long swig from the bottle.

If there was one thing she had learned from losing so many friends in the war, it was 'live for today'.

She steeled herself and knocked the potion back.

The liquid was thicker than she expected and had the taste of bitter coffee. It ran down her throat in a wonderfully satisfying way and pooled warmth in her stomach.

Within ten minutes the forest was full of tiny lights dancing around her. Hermione was swallowed in an overwhelming sense of lightness and euphoria as if she would feel happy forever. She could not stand still so she paced around gazing up at the night sky.

Each branch seemed to hum with a life force unseen before this moment. The wind through the leaves sang a sweet song to her soul.

She glanced to Snape who had sat down and was looking carefully at a leaf as if analysing it in detail.

"So this is 'euphoria inducing fun juice'?" Hermione giggled.

Snape did not look at her but his grin became a lot wider.

"I need a bigger sticky label if that's what you want to name it…" he joked.

Hermione laughed and snapped off a branch. It kaleidoscoped in her vision.

"How is this 'Dark Magic', Severus?"

He seemed to think about the question for a moment and considered his answer.

"It allows you a level of self-indulgence and benefits no one other than the user. The potion stirs up your deepest desires and removes your inhibitions. The only thing you will want is what appeals to yourself at the time. That's Dark Magic."

Hermione thought about it and shook her head.

"Dark Magic is harmful magic, that's the difference, surely?"

"The stunning spell or stinging jinxes are aggressive and harmful. There are a lot more 'white magic' spells which are damaging."

"Depends on how they're used," Hermione answered.

"Exactly," he replied.

She found herself gazing at him sitting on the floor. He was handsome and tall as well as angular and scruffy looking, though this somehow added to his allure.

She found herself stepping towards him and taking his hand.

He stood up and smiled down at her.

"Is there a desire you are feeling, Miss Delacour?" he asked.

His expression was attractively confident like he was comfortable in his own ability and not in any way intimidated by her closeness or state of arousal.

What started running through Hermione's mind was unthinkable.

He was Professor Snape.

But he wasn't, was he? Yet.

Hermione reached up and undid the top button of his shirt, followed by the next down.

He watched her face as she did it, holding her gaze.

She undid the next few until his chest was visible to her and she found herself staring at the warm flesh under his clothes.

Snape shrugged off his cloak and eased hers off her shoulders.

He undid her tie with a careful flick before running his hands down her sides and rested them on the small of her back. He gently urged her towards him. She pressed herself against his firm body and enjoyed the heat coming off him in contrast to the cold chill of the night.

She was hit by his smell: a mixture of sandalwood and fresh parchment with undertones of fresh grass from the floor he had been sitting on and coffee on his breath.

He bent his neck slightly and kissed the top of her head.

"It's the potion," he whispered.

Hermione felt adrenaline surge through her as an exciting thought came at her like a bolt of lightning. She reached up and pulled his mouth to hers with the back of his neck and kissed him with more emotion and longing than she had ever kissed anyone in her life.

"No, it isn't. It's always been you," she confessed breathily after she pulled away, "You have fascinated me since the first time I met you and you have worked your way into my heart since then. I want you like I've never wanted anyone. Because I shouldn't! Yet I do…"

Snape gasped in shock but bent his head and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Hermione's body moved instinctively and started to grind against the front of him. He reacted by returning the pressure and his hands traced the bottom of her skirt.

She pulled his hands up it and onto her delicate underwear covering her rear. He squeezed her backside and groaned in a carnal way which stirred Hermione's sexual being. She felt her underwear growing wet and her need for him intensified.

It was like nothing she had ever known.

They slowly undressed each other and panted as they touched each other's bodies, one teasing the other until their cries and moans filled the forest. Hermione was overcome as she experienced one orgasm after another at the mercy of the genius youth.

She was desperate to feel him inside her, yet he seemed resistant to actually penetrate her, choosing instead to focus on her pleasure and keep her wanting.

Eventually, she ran out of stamina and pushed him gently away. He lay next to her and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his arm. His erection still remained firm and stirred guilt in Hermione.

"Severus…" she said, "don't you want to come yourself? You've been so generous, let me repay you?"

He smirked and rolled over to face her. His arms enveloped her body in an almost loving gesture.

"I can wait," he replied, "I want to wait…"

Hermione turned her head and kissed his lips with warmth and affection.

With her hair full of leaves, thoughts blurred and dreamlike, naked in her new lover's arms,

Hermione Granger finally felt at home.

~0o0~

"Where have you been?" Lily asked as Hermione finally climbed the stairs to their shared room and collapsed on the bed.

Hermione giggled to herself and extracted a branch from her hair.

"I've been very naughty," she replied.

Lily put down the book she was reading and joined Hermione on Hermione's bed.

"So..? Is there someone from Hogwarts who's taken your fancy? Tell me!" Lily pleaded.

Hermione clicked her tongue and smiled mysteriously.

"Might be," she teased.

Lily hit her with a pillow and walked back to her own side of the room.

"Fine then, don't tell me," she said, "Just as long as you've resisted Sirius still!"

"I don't want him," Hermione answered quickly. She undressed and climbed into bed, aware that

Lily still seemed to be hovering for an answer. As she lay down in the dark, it occurred to her that Snape in this time period, despite what had transpired that night, still held a candle for Lily. She blushed with rage at the thought of him grieving for the red-haired beauty for decades and dying for selfless love.

 _Not in this timeline…_ she thought to herself, _In this timeline, I'll be the love of his life and he won't die alone at all!_

Jealousy burned her as she stared at her curtains around her bed, picturing the girl asleep opposite.

Lily doesn't deserve a talented, extraordinary man like Severus Snape. I'll show him that…

~0o0~

A fire can only burn with fuel and oxygen. In the wrong conditions, a spark will be wasted and come to nothing. Given the right conditions, an inferno will be created from the smallest of embers.

Jealousy is so like fire as it is all consuming and terrible. It destroys all other thoughts and emotions until there is nothing but jealousy's charred legacy.

There is no counter emotion to it, no reasoning with it and no spell exists to combat it.

Within Hermione Granger's heart, the flames had started to lick and the scorching of her heart had begun…

" _The jealous are possessed by a mad devil and a dull spirit at the same time." Johann Kasper Lavater_


End file.
